The Rural Voice, 2004-10, Page 49AgriTech
Searching for technological info
With links to more than a dozen
Canadian biotechnology sites. others
to look into include Canadian
Institute of Biotech, www.biotech.ca.
Here I discovered that shortly after
the writing of this column. the
country would be marking Canada's
National Biotechnology Week. Did
anyone know we had such a thing''
Apparently it is recognized from
September 27 to October I
The site also includes the usual
facts and figures. links. coming
events and news items, but I found
New Discoveries section very
interesting. It deals with not dust
agricultural biotechnology. but
scientific discoveries related to our
health and welfare.
There are numerous sites related to
biotechnology and its continuing
influence on our daily lives. A few
clicks from one site to another can
result in some interesting discoveries
of your own.
Contact me at jlbecker@
wightman.ca or through The Rural
Voice office. with topic suggestions
or feedback.0
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton, ON.
After several years of writing this
column, I sometimes struggle for a
topic to entice and interest. With a
focus on agriculturally -based
websites or new technology impact-
ing the industry, I decided to look for
websites that had the same mandate.
The first, Ag Biotech Reporter,
www.bioreporter.com, out of Cedar
Falls, Iowa, is an international
research and business publication
covering research and product •
development and introduction as well
as political and trade issues.
The progress of new products may
be of great interest to farmers as they
seek ways to battle the elements and
the markets. In addition to articles on
genetically -engineered plants and
animals, the Biotech Reporter
announces pending and secured
patents.
With the About ABR Zink,
connections can be made to dozens of
publications and websites, including
many international sites, which deal
with similar topics.
A free copy can be ordered, but
unfortunately, the Reporter is not
really geared to the individual. With a
price tag of $300 to $525 U.S for a
one-year subscription, the focus is on
corporate, library, government and
university accounts.
This led me to a Canadian site
through the University of
Saskatchewan. The College of
Biotechnology, biotechnology.
usask.ca/ScienceLinks.html, was
developed by the university and is
offered at'four colleges with courses
covering the ethical, scientific,
economic, commercial and social
impacts of the ever-expanding
biotechnology industry.
And as is my style, this then took
me to anothei site. The Council for
Biotechnology .Information,
whybiotech.ca/canada-english.asp.
Under the section geared to farmers,
there was an interesting article on
Canadians leading the way in the
adoption of biotech crops and another
on the benefits of biotech crops.
For consumers, the articles relate
more to food matters such as white
potatoes, lycopene, canola oil and
future foods.
Also check out the pieces on
biotech acres, better health related to
biotechs, approved products for the
market and safety and regulations.
For those interested in the
connection between the environment
and biotechnology. AGCare,
www.agcare.org, is a good place to
start. Here too, the author talks about
the increasing utilization of biotechs
in Canada and how these new
developments have assisted Canadian
farmers to reduce the use of
pesticides due to built-in resistance
while implementing practices such as
no -till. .
Through the biotech link on the
right. surfers can download fact
sheets on everything from Monarch
butterflies and BT corn to novel
foods.
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OCTOBER 2004 45
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